Abstract In this study, an acid-induced assembly strategy for a rutile TiO2 photocatalyst was proposed on the basis of the treatment of lamellar protonated titanate with a concentrated HNO3 solution. Nitrate groups were successfully grafted onto a TiO2 surface and induced the assembly of rutile TiO2 nanorods into uniform spindle-like nanobundles. The resulting TiO2 product achieved a photocatalytic hydrogen evolution rate of 402.4 μmol h−1, which is 3.1 times higher than that of Degussa P25-TiO2. It was demonstrated that nitrate group grafting caused the rutile TiO2 surface to become negatively charged, which is favorable for trapping positive protons and improving charge carrier separation, thereby enhancing photocatalytic hydrogen production. Additionally, surface charges were crucial to structural stability based on electrostatic repulsion. This study not only developed a facile surface modification strategy for fabricating efficient H2 production photocatalysts but also identified an influence mechanism of inorganic acids different from that reported in the literature.

中文翻译：

---

硝酸盐基团接枝诱导的金红石 TiO2 纳米束组装增强光催化析氢

摘要 在这项研究中，在用浓 HNO3 溶液处理层状质子化钛酸盐的基础上，提出了一种酸诱导组装金红石型 TiO2 光催化剂的策略。硝酸盐基团成功接枝到 TiO2 表面，并诱导金红石 TiO2 纳米棒组装成均匀的纺锤状纳米束。所得TiO2产物的光催化析氢速率为402.4 μmol h-1，是Degussa P25-TiO2的3.1倍。结果表明，硝酸基接枝使金红石TiO2表面带负电，有利于捕获正质子和改善载流子分离，从而提高光催化产氢。此外，表面电荷对于基于静电排斥的结构稳定性至关重要。